Another gem from SMS – unpublished as yet – by Fjeldstad, Gao and Burkay of BI Norwegian School of Mgmt. How come Google and eBay, dominant global players in their sectors, both got killed by local rivals in China – AliBaba and Baidu [in eBay’s case, in spite of acquiring a strong Chinese firm]?

Seems from extensive analytical research and interviews with top management in both sectors, it was because they misunderstood the ‘value network’ model – thinking it was all about linking Chinese<>others generally, when the key was linking Chinese<>Chinese consumers.

A timely warning to check whether our sources of ‘competitive advantage’ translate well into new settings.